Crews extinguish fire on Near West Side

Smoke billows from a blaze that damaged two buildings in the 1400 block of West Erie Street in Chicago this afternoon.

Terrence Antonio James, Chicago Tribune

Smoke billows from a blaze that damaged two buildings in the 1400 block of West Erie Street in Chicago this afternoon.

Smoke billows from a blaze that damaged two buildings in the 1400 block of West Erie Street in Chicago this afternoon. (Terrence Antonio James, Chicago Tribune)

Staff report

Firefighters extinguished a blaze that started on the roof of one residential building in the West Town neighborhood this afternoon and spread to another, a Fire Department spokesman said.

Firefighters were called to the 1400 block of West Erie Street about 4 p.m. for the fire in the three-story building, according to the Chicago Fire Department's media office. The fire was under control by about 4:30 p.m.

No one was injured in the fire.

Two three-story brick residential buildings were affected. The fire started on the roof or rooftop deck of one building and spread to the roof of the second building, then to the inside of the second building, said Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.

The inside of the building where the fire started was largely unaffected by the fire, Langford said.

The heavy black smoke from the fire made it appear more "spectacular" than it was because much of the fire involved roofing materials, Langford said.